Most people know about the Individual Insurance Reform and the Health Exchange Market place https://www.healthcare.gov/ that came about as a result of the Affordable Care act (also known as Obamacare), but do you know what other changes were enacted due to this massive law? This is part 1 of a 4 part series I am writing on the Affordable Care Act. | |
But I liked my old plan
Thanks to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) also known as Obamacare, millions of Americans will be able to get affordable health insurance through the Marketplace on www.healthcare.gov or one of the state alternative sites! The deadline has been extended to March 31, 2013.
One of the major sticking points of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was that all of the Insurance Policies offered must meet 10 non-negotiable criteria. These include:
Also, insurance coverage is now extended for children up to age 26; young people age 19 to 25 were one of the target uninsured age groups previously identified as "at risk."
Few insurance policies were able to meet all 10 of these criteria in addition to the out-of-pocket cap. In addition, there was a mass cancellation of insurance policies in response to the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). These seemed to be targeted to those people with pre-existing conditions.
http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/stories/2013/october/21/cancellation-notices-health-insurance.aspx
This is not too surprising due to how expensive chronic conditions are. Unfortunately, as the numbers come in for 2014, it is clear that fewer people have signed up for the exchanges than have been had cancelled policies.
I have not been able to find consistent numbers in my research, but it seems to be somewhere between 4.7 million to 5.6 million have lost insurance over the past 6 months due to changes in the law and only an estimated 365 thousand to 2 million signed up through the marketplace. To make it even more confusing, additional people have been made eligible for Medicaid, due to the changes in eligibility requirements from the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). In fact, if you go to sign up for healthcare on the website and your reported taxable income is at 133% of the poverty level or below ($31,321.50 is the cutoff for a family of four) , you will be instructed to sign up for Medicaid instead. I have found these numbers sometimes reported in the health.gov numbers as well.
http://www.medicaid.gov/Medicaid-CHIP-Program-Information/By-Topics/Eligibility/Downloads/2013-Federal-Poverty-level-charts.pdf
You don’t need to be a math genius to figure out that this means a million fewer Americans have insurance now than when Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) came into being.
The people that need it most, in fact..
http://www.maciverinstitute.com/2013/12/obamacare-causes-56-million-cancelled-insurance-plans/
http://dailycaller.com/2014/01/01/its-official-obamacare-debuts-with-more-cancelled-plans-than-enrollments/
In November, some negotiations were made, but on a statewide basis. Some states will allow plans without meeting all criteria and the cap, others will not. Some insurers refuse to participate altogether.
Regardless of how you feel about the new law, if you need healthcare, you should still consider signing up at healthcare.gov or your state sponsored exchange, particularly if you have a pre-existing condition.
One of the major sticking points of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was that all of the Insurance Policies offered must meet 10 non-negotiable criteria. These include:
- Maternity and newborn care
- Emergency services
- Mental health and substance use disorders, including behavioral health treatment
- (non-drug)
- Pediatric services, including oral and vision care
- Preventive and Wellness and chronic disease management
Also, insurance coverage is now extended for children up to age 26; young people age 19 to 25 were one of the target uninsured age groups previously identified as "at risk."
Few insurance policies were able to meet all 10 of these criteria in addition to the out-of-pocket cap. In addition, there was a mass cancellation of insurance policies in response to the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). These seemed to be targeted to those people with pre-existing conditions.
http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/stories/2013/october/21/cancellation-notices-health-insurance.aspx
This is not too surprising due to how expensive chronic conditions are. Unfortunately, as the numbers come in for 2014, it is clear that fewer people have signed up for the exchanges than have been had cancelled policies.
I have not been able to find consistent numbers in my research, but it seems to be somewhere between 4.7 million to 5.6 million have lost insurance over the past 6 months due to changes in the law and only an estimated 365 thousand to 2 million signed up through the marketplace. To make it even more confusing, additional people have been made eligible for Medicaid, due to the changes in eligibility requirements from the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). In fact, if you go to sign up for healthcare on the website and your reported taxable income is at 133% of the poverty level or below ($31,321.50 is the cutoff for a family of four) , you will be instructed to sign up for Medicaid instead. I have found these numbers sometimes reported in the health.gov numbers as well.
http://www.medicaid.gov/Medicaid-CHIP-Program-Information/By-Topics/Eligibility/Downloads/2013-Federal-Poverty-level-charts.pdf
You don’t need to be a math genius to figure out that this means a million fewer Americans have insurance now than when Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) came into being.
The people that need it most, in fact..
http://www.maciverinstitute.com/2013/12/obamacare-causes-56-million-cancelled-insurance-plans/
http://dailycaller.com/2014/01/01/its-official-obamacare-debuts-with-more-cancelled-plans-than-enrollments/
In November, some negotiations were made, but on a statewide basis. Some states will allow plans without meeting all criteria and the cap, others will not. Some insurers refuse to participate altogether.
Regardless of how you feel about the new law, if you need healthcare, you should still consider signing up at healthcare.gov or your state sponsored exchange, particularly if you have a pre-existing condition.